Sectional-top folding table



(No Model.)

R. J. NEILL.

SEOTIONAL TOP FOLDING TABLE. No. 482,525. Patented Sept. 13, 1892.

WITNESSES: l/VVE/VTOI? Unrrnn STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

ROBERT J. NEILL, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

SECTIONAL-TOP FOLDING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,525, datedSeptember 13, 1892.

Application filed May 24, 1892. Serial No. 434,158. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. NEILL, a citizen of the United States,residingat Elizabeth, Union county, New Jersey, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Sectional-Top Folding Tables, fullydescribed and represented in the following specification and theaccompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention consists in a folding table especially adapted for theuse of paperhangers.

The construction will be understood by reference to the annexeddrawings, in which Figure 1 is an end elevation with the cleats brokenaway to show rabbeted plate, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the tableset up for use. Fig. Sis a plan of the under side of the table; Fig. 4,a cross-section of the table-top, showing the hinges c and c; and Fig. 5represents the table folded up in readiness for transportation.

The table-top is made of thin boards and divided on the lines a b,separating it into four sections was and U o. The sections are jointedacross the line a by hinges c, fixed upon transverse cleats o, andhinges 0, projected from the joint, as shown in Fig. 2, and the sectionsa and o are joined upon the line b by hinges cl at the opposite edges ofthe sections. At the central junction of the four boards a rabbetedplate f is fitted to four rabbeted strips 6, one upon each of theboards, thus holding the boards fiat when opened, the cross-joint I;being also secured by means of hooks m. Legs j are attached to the tableby hinges p, and are connected by means of a hook-rod 6, fitted to eyesupon the opposite legs. A brace 70 is also pivoted to the inner side ofone leg at each end of the table and is notched at its outer end to fitupon a pin 70 upon the inner side of the other leg. The braces 70stiffen the legs diagonally, while the hook-rod Z presses themlaterally. A brace g is secured by removable pins h to each end of theplatef, and is fitted by means of a notch to hook over the middle of therod Z. Pins or screws with heads (1 are inserted in the braces g, and atie-bar t is notched to fit over such pins, thus holding the braces inplace. The hinges d consist each in a flat plate let in the edges of thesections at and y, with a screw in each end to form the joint, as shownin Figs. 2 and 3, and permit the boards as and y to be folded with theirtop sides together after the boards 00 and y have been folded over uponthe hinges c c with their inner sides together. The location of thehinges 0 upon the cleats 0 separates the boards when folded togetherupon the line (1, thus providing room between the boards for the legs j,which are folded inward upon the hinges p. The space between the boardsalso furnishes room to accommodate the block 6 and the braces g and t,the braces being separated from the block by withdrawing the pins h.When folded together, as shown in Fig. 4, the table-top thus forms twoparts, which would be connected only by the hinges cl; but a hook 8 mayalso be applied at the opposite end of the parts to hold them together,or the same may be secured together by means of a hand-strap providedwith a handle to carry the same.

Folding tables have been formed heretofore with the top in four pieces;but mine diifers from any previous construction in the method ofjointing and folding the parts, so that the upper sides of the boardswand y are turned toward one another when the table is packed fortransportation. My invention also differs from others in the combinationof the rabbeted plate f with the four rabbeted strips e, one upon eachof the boards which form the table-top. When such plate is inserted inplace, as shown in Fig. 3, the heads of the pins hprevent it fromdisplacement by their contact with the ends of the adjacent strips 6,and the various braces are thus firmly held in place and the legssupportedin the desired manner.

I am aware of the constructions shown in United States Patents No.22,371, issued December 21, 1858; No. 155,511, September 29, 187-l, andNo. 307,623, November 4,1884, and I hereby disclaim such constructions.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim hereinis 1. A sectional folding table having the top provided with hinged legsand divided into the four boards 0a, 00', y, and y, connected togetherby the hinges c, c, and d, as set forth, and the boards being providedat their central j unction with the rabbeted strips 6, and the rabbetedplate f, fitted thereto, substantially as f by the removable pins 71,substantially as set forth.' herein set forth.

2. A sectional folding table consisting in In testimony whereof I havehereunto set the four boards provided at their central my hand in thepresence of two snbscriblng 5 unction with the rabbeted strips 6, theplate witnesses.

fitted thereto, with the pins 71 bearing upon the ends of the strips 6,the hinges c, mounted ROBERT NEILL' upon the cleats 0, the legs j,provided with WVitnesses: the hook-rods Z and braces in, and the bracesL. LEE, IO g, fitted to the rods Z and attached to the plate T. S.CRANE.

